…”
I wiggled my butt in the chair.
“Did you have a good day today? Come back healthy tomorrow!”
I waited for the teacher’s pep talk to end. My butt was almost halfway off the chair. After keeping an eye out, the teacher finally finished, and it was time to go home.
“Yay!”
I cheered and grabbed my bag. I praised myself for surviving another day of school and got ready to head home. Whenever it was time to go home, my mood always lifted. I must be the only person in the world who goes to elementary school twice.
Going to elementary school twice would be a miraculous experience even the president couldn’t have. Normally, once you graduate, you can never return, right?
“Hana! Wanna go to the snack shop today?”
Yumi, sitting next to me, asked. I nodded vigorously. I didn’t eat much for lunch because it wasn’t tasty. My stomach was growling, and I was wondering how to fill it when Yumi gave the perfect suggestion. Filling my stomach with snacks sounded great.
“I wanna go too!”
Jiyu peeked from the back seat and chimed in. The more people, the better the food tastes, so I had no reason to refuse. After all, food tastes better when shared, right?
“Are we going to the place in front of our school?”
I only knew one snack shop. Yumi nodded.
“Yeah. That place is delicious. I go there so often the auntie knows my face and gives me extra!”
“Wow!”
A regular, huh? Yumi, despite her appearance, was a big eater. I was shocked once when I saw the mountain of food on her tray during lunch. I thought to myself, I could never eat that much…
But Yumi didn’t seem to gain weight despite eating so much. In fact, she was rather slim. If I ate like her, I’d probably turn into a pig. I eat a lot too, but compared to Yumi, it’s nothing.
“Let’s go!”
After quickly leaving school, we headed to the snack shop. The place was packed with students. Eating at a snack shop instead of home-cooked meals was unfilial! But I was an exception—my parents weren’t around.
“So many people~”
“Yeah. It feels like our whole school is here.”
Luckily, there was one table left, and we managed to sit. I looked at the menu. There were various options, but we ordered the usual: spicy rice cakes and sundae. We could decide on other dishes later.
“The spicy rice cakes and sundae here are amazing! And they give you a lot! If you want anything else, order it! I’ll pay!”
Yumi, clearly hungry, tapped the table with her chopsticks, eager for the food to arrive. Jiyu, noticing Yumi’s impatience, chimed in.
“Really? I kinda want some fried kimchi rolls!”
“If Jiyu wants it, let’s order that too!”
The menu expanded. After a few minutes of chatting, the auntie brought over a mountain of food. My eyes sparkled at the steaming spicy rice cakes and sundae. This was the kind of treat that hit the spot.
“Wow!”
We couldn’t help but marvel at the delicious aroma. Yumi and Jiyu had been to many food spots around the school in their three years here, but this was my first time. Everything was a new experience. I picked up a rice cake with my chopsticks and took a bite.
The texture was perfect. With every chew, the flavor of the seasoning filled my mouth. This was proof of a great snack shop. To win over kids’ taste buds, you had to make it like this. Other places skimped on seasoning to save money, but not here.
I gave Yumi a thumbs-up and praised her. I’d come here hundreds of times if it meant eating like this.
“It’s so good, Yumi!”
“Really? I’m glad you like it, Hana!”
Yumi said while munching on sundae. Her chubby cheeks were adorable. Typical of kids, I guess. Jiyu, usually talkative, was quietly devouring the food.
Nom nom!
And just like that, I filled my stomach with spicy rice cakes and sundae. Eating and chatting with friends made it even more delicious. Now I understood why people love eating together.
—————————————————–
“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
I was hunched over my desk, clutching my stomach. Next to me, Yumi was patting my back. Every time Yumi patted my back, I felt a little bit of relief.
“You ate way too much yesterday, Hana!”
Yumi was nagging like a mom. And she was right. I must have overeaten because I woke up feeling terrible. I took some digestive medicine, but it didn’t seem to kick in yet.
“Hana, are you feeling really bad?”
Jiyu asked from behind if I was okay. I shook my head weakly, my face pale. I didn’t feel any better. I decided I couldn’t sit through class like this, so I made up my mind to go to the nurse’s office. It was a legit excuse to skip class.
“I’ll take her!”
“No, I’ll take her!”
Jiyu and Yumi were fighting over who would take me to the nurse’s office. I thought they should just hurry up and take me instead of arguing. My stomach was still upset, and I skipped breakfast, so I was in a sharp mood. You know how it is—when you’re hungry, you turn into a beast. I was a hungry predator, a wild animal.
In the end, they both decided to go. The break was long enough for that. I was dragged off like a criminal, with Jiyu and Yumi each holding one of my arms. I couldn’t understand why they had to hold me like that. Wouldn’t it be easier to just walk normally?
If someone wrote a thesis on why girls link arms, it would get a lot of attention. Guys don’t even stand close to each other, let alone link arms. Kids might not get it, but my friends were like that. If we held hands or linked arms, people would definitely give us weird looks.
But for girls, linking arms was just natural. So, I had no choice but to be dragged to the nurse’s office with one arm linked to each of them. No one was outside the nurse’s office. The school nurse really had the best job—just hanging out in the nurse’s office all day and then going home.
Of course, there must be some challenges, but since we don’t see them, who knows what they do? I knocked and entered the nurse’s office. Inside, the nurse was sitting at her desk, typing away on her keyboard.
She noticed me coming in and got up to approach me. Then she asked:
“Where does it hurt?”
Her voice was soft as she asked. I rubbed my stomach and made a pitiful face.
“My stomach hurts, teacher…”
As I said that, Jiyu chimed in from the side.
“We went to a snack shop yesterday, and she ate a lot.”
What the—! I thought they came to protect me! Instead, Jiyu was being way too honest. I didn’t want to admit that I ate so much I got a stomachache like a little kid!
Seeing my pained expression, the nurse rushed over. She took out some medicine and handed it to me.
“Take this and lie down on the bed. If lying down is too hard, you can sit instead.”
I took the medicine and lay down on the bed. Then Yumi and Jiyu started chattering beside me.
“Hana, what are we going to do if you keep eating until you get sick!”
Yumi said while patting my belly. I could feel my bloated stomach deflating.
“Honestly, she acts like an uncle most of the time, but Hana has this childish side too!”
Jiyu was subtly sharp. There was an old man living inside me. My appearance was that of a child, but my heart was that of an old man. Of course, I never acted like a kid after getting this body!
As we chatted, the long break came to an end.
“Hana, see you later!”
“Let us know if anything happens!”
I waved to Yumi and Jiyu as they left for class. The thought of skipping class made me feel better. There was a reason I came to the nurse’s office so often. The feeling of lying down comfortably while everyone else was in class was the best.
And so, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
